Fable - Ask The Burden of Nobility[Vel Anir]

[Olvir]

Vel Anir - The Bloody Gull

"What you think you're better than me because you got a fancy coat and that shiny fuckin sword?!"

The man in front of Olvir had become utterly belligerent. He was loud, shouting, and seemed utterly too angry for the drink that he was holding in his hand. "No sir, I don't."

He tried to sound sincere, but it was rather hard with the drunken brute slurring his words in front of them. A few people turned their heads towards them, the others at the table half cringing as the commoner began to shout once more. His voice loud enough that it caused even the bards in the corner of the room to slow their song.

"YOU NOBLES THINK YOU'RE SO MUCH FUCKIN' BETTER THAN US! WELL YOU ISN'T!"​

"Aren't." Olvir corrected, his face still a placid mask.

"WHAT?!"​

Olvir let out a sigh, finally putting down his cards onto the table before him. "Aren't. We aren't better than you."

The man seemed stunned for a moment, as if he couldn't quite believe that the words had come from Olvir's mouth. He seemed to look left, then right, as if trying to confirm with the others at the table. After a moment the crimson in his face turned another shade darker, and he let out a roar as he practically jumped across the table at Olvir.

A shout echoed from the young Noble's lips as he leaped back and out of his seat, grabbing the other man by the neck and slamming his head onto the table in front of him. There was a loud thud as the man's face cracked into the heavy wood. "I don't want any trou-"

Before Olvir could finish, a fist slammed into his face from the left. One of the man's companions jumping to his friends assistance.

 

[Dreymon]

Dreymon had just settled at a seat and was about to partake in yet, another cup of ale. Hard earned, of course. He didn't mind bars, they had music and the hopes of some pretty things to look at as he blasted himself into Oblivion and forgot the last few years of life.

And then the rabble started to yell, drunkenly. Zero eloquence, zero assertiveness, all booze. He lifted his tankard to take a long pull in the hopes the distraction would die down. It wouldn't. It would only get worse.

He watched in horror as a head slammed roughly onto the table, the impact causing some of his sweet nectar to spring forth from the tankard and paint the table. An eye twitched. No no, he wouldn't intervene.

Then the kid took a strong blow to the jaw, from someone in the crowd. Then another stepped forward. A fourth would rush in, shoving a patron into Drey's back, causing ale to splash from that mans tankard onto his gambeson.

That.. was unforgivable.

"Ope, sorr-" this innocent bystander would be cut off as Drey reached up, grabbing him by the collar of his shirt and slamming him head first into the table beside him. The bystander groaned, before slumping to the floor, unconscious.

Rising to his feet now, Drey would scoop his tankard into his hand and drain the contents, before metal cup was hurled into the head of the man that punched Olvir, immediately derailing any momentum he had gained on the young man as he clattered backwards and onto the ground.

The fourth man, the bastard who had caused the spill on his shoulder, turned as the tankard sailed past just in time to catch a hardened leather boot right between the biscuits. As he doubled over in pain, Dreymon would lift him overhead before slamming him downward onto the heavy oaken table. The only thing that would break was probably a few ribs and the mans will to live.

"One of you pieces of shit are going to be buying me a new drink." Drey would say to the other men.

Olvir

 

[Elias]

Having returned from relieving himself just in time to witness the spark of a brawl, Elias remained uninvolved, cooly watching as Olvir had been struck across the face. A deep frown pulled at the lines of the Lordling's face. With the sun having been long since set, he hadn't the desire nor energy to throw himself into a scrap, even if it was for his longtime friend.

Such ordeals this late in the eve were troublesome. Boorish.

Eyeing the door, the initiate slowly shuffled around the escalating scuffle, only to be cut off by some poor lout making an involuntary introduction with a tabletop.

Elias grimaced, grumbled, and shook his head as he backed up, feet dragging, as he searched for a safer path to the exit.

 

[Olvir]

Olvir staggered back, feeling the slight trickle of blood down his lip from a now broken nose. He let out a whole series of curses that his mother would have admonished him for, looking up just in time to see his assailant be hit in the side.of the head with a metal cup.

The commoner staggered to the left, clutching at his new wound in both confusion and anger.

Chaos broke out all around them. Some people leaping to join the action while others scrambled to get out of the way. Another man stepped towards Olvir, a scowl on his face as he suddenly lashes out towards the Noble with a meaty fist.

Still half clutching his nose the Noble ducked, his assailants swing fall up his head as he found himself backed into a corner. "Sir."

Olvir called to the man.

"I don't want any trouble. I was just looking to play some car-" Another punch was thrown, and this time his hand came up. He deflected the man's fist, and then launched his knee up into his sternum to send him barreling over to the side.

Almost as soon as he fell, Two more men appeared from the mass of the brawl. A curse echoed from Olvir's lips, and he searched. A panicked smile touched his face as he spotted his friend. "Hey Eli! Big bad DREADLORD BEST FRIEND OF MINE!"

He shouted at Elias, waving and obviously pointing him out in the crowd.

"HOW ABOUT YOU COME HELP YOUR OLD PAL OLLIE WITH THAT POWERFUL MAGIC OF YOURS!" Olvir of course knew that Eli's magic didn't work at night, least not how it was supposed to. But he was hoping the bluff would be enough.

Elias | Dreymon

 

[Elias]

A few sound minds within the bar turned their heads.

"Dreadlord?"

"What?"

Fearful whispers were drowned out in the commotion, and now that he'd been outed among the onlookers, those around Elias gave the Initiate a wide berth. He stormed across the tavern, weaving through the brawl, shouldering past drunkards and the like, spilled ale splashing under his purposeful footfalls. In no time, he'd arrived before his lifelong friend and pointed at the youngest child of Weiroon.

"You're done here," Elias hissed, "We're leaving."

"Oy, shithead," slurred one of the men separating the two Lordlings, "Ya' not going anywhere."

"Fookin' kick the piss outta 'im, Logan!" Spittle flew from the other's mouth.

"Aye, I'm gon-"

The man lifted his foot to step, but Elias had already sprung into action. His fist lashed out like a viper and struck Logan's throat, who stumbled back, fingers clawing at his neck over his windpipe. The Initiate's assault was brutal and swift as he followed with a heavy kick below the man's knee, and as he buckled, Elias grabbed his head and slammed it down on the table next to them.

The man unceremoniously crumpled to the ground into a still pile of contorted limbs, and when Elias whirled on the second man with malice behind his steely gaze, he backed away afeared of what he'd just seen.

"How. Fucking. DARE you call me out like that!" Elias said as he spun on Olvir, stepped to him, and jabbed a finger into his friend's chest.

 

[Olvir]

Ollie raised his hands in an instant.

The sword he usually carried was still leaning against the wall behind him, but he made no effort to pick it up. A chaste, innocent smile flickered over his lips as Elias' finger jabbed into his chest. "Listen, Eli."

He said, his jaw still aching from having a punch thrown into his face.

"Let's not focus on that." Ollie gestured vaguely. "Let's focus on what happened after."

His hand motioned towards the unconscious men on the floor, and then with the slickness of a salmon Ollie slipped to Elias' side. His arm wrapped around his friends shoulder, a wide smile touching on his face as the chaos around them raged on.

Commoners were still throwing punches, merchant son's were still brawling, but everyone now seemed to avoid the two Nobles like the plague. "You beat the lummoxes. You stand tall and proud."

He gestured to Elias. "And now...now you're gonna get laid. Guaranteed."

Even if Ollie had to pay for it.

"Any woman would buckle at such a display of swift strength." He glanced at his friend. "Trust me."

Elias | Dreymon

 

[Dreymon]

Drey had been busy with some of the other patrons, which would end in the loud and quite sickening snapping of one man's arm and his cries of pain shortly after. A man would rush the veteran from behind only to stop short as one of the waitresses smacked him over the head with a tankard.

Hearing the sound of metal, Drey turned to see the tankard in her hand and the man on the ground. "Thanks, love." He would say before looking around the surrounding patrons to gauge who was next.

As one man reached for his dagger, the former Paladins eyes narrowed. "Easy son, up until now, its been fun and games. You touch that, and you won't be going home to your family tonight." The young man would remove his hand after some consideration and with nobody else seemingly looking to fight, Drey would return to his spot.

His path would bring him past Olvir and Eli. One smelled like a Noble, the other was apparently a Dreadlord. Both could sod off for all he cared. He would take a near-full tankard from where one of the now unconscious patrons lay and sat in his bench, this time, his back against the table.

He looked about the carnage, laughed to himself and took a hearty pull from his freshly acquired drink.

Olvir | Elias

 

[Elias]

Elias' rising temper had drawn traces of amber into dark eyes—shimmering slivers and flecks of gold that in the inn's candlelight glistened like amber resin.

"I know better than to fall for your eloquence," the Dreadlord seethed, and though shutting Olvir up with a swift punch to his mouth crossed Elias' mind, the both of them knew that would never come to be.

He shrugged Olvir's arm off, "And of course, I'll fucking get laid. I don't need your assurance or meddling in that regard. Maybe you should worry about yourself. When's the last time you felt a woman's touch?"

Meanwhile, Elias' gaze swept across the mob and settled on a mercenary-type leaning back and taking in the sights.

"Lookit him," the Lordling said to Olvir with a tilt of his head at Dreymon, "Cool as can be."

 

[Mina Pirian]

Mina had been looking forward to a nice quiet night out in an area of town that she did not usually frequent...where her friends and fellow Nobles did not usually visit. She just liked to be anonymous sometimes. It was something she missed about being in the Guard. One of the only things really.

She pushed open the door of The Bloody Gull and stopped in her tracks. She looked around the tavern and shook her head. Men. It seemed she had - not so sadly - missed a major brawl. Her eyes scanned the standing patrons for any faces she recognized.

Mina was surprised to see two young Nobles that she did know. Elias Sirl and Olvir Weiroon. She wondered which had been the instigator of this little thing and her blue eyes feel on Elias. It had to be the one who had gone to the Dreadlord Academy. No self-respecting Noble would start a brawl but Dreadlords were different.

"Which one of you did this?" Mina asked sweetly after she picked her way through the carnage.

 

[Olvir]

Ollie feigned both surprise and shock as Elias swept him away. He had of course known that his friend wouldn’t look too kindly on anything he’d done, but it had all worked out for the best. The fight seemed to have died down, Eli was getting laid, and Ollie had only gotten punched once.

That was what mattered at the end of the day, right?

”Yeah.” He glanced over towards the man with a slight frown. Ollie didn’t recognize him in the least, but that didn’t mean much. ”He’s probably-”

Before he could finish speaking Ollie glanced over towards the door sliding open, spotting Mina Pirian stepping inside.

Olvir glanced at Eli, then nudged him. ”Good luck with the whole getting laid thing, I’m gonna go…”

His hand waved towards the back door and began to step. ”Do…business…you know…important stuff.”

Dreymon | Elias | Mina Pirian

 

[Elias]

A vice grip lashed out to snatch Olvir by his collar. "Tsk! Tsk!" Elias expressed disapproval, "Not so fast, Oli. You dragged me out here while I'm on leave. Don't think you'll be going off so soon."

And the Initiate turned to the only tolerable Pirian.

"Evenin', Philomina. Have a guess. If you pick right, you get a reward," Elias gave the captured Olvir a violent jostle and snarled through his tightly set jaw, "Go on. Guess."

 

[Mina Pirian]

Mina's glare held both hurt and delight as Olvir tried (and failed) to make his escape from her. It had been years since she had gotten him in trouble with his father (on accident, of course) and she was an adult now. She did not have time or the desire to prank the poor boy again. Well...at least not as bad as she had.

She let out a low huffing growl at the use of her full first name. Elias knew better but Elias was Elias. It would not surprise her if he called Philomina just to drive her up a wall.

"Oh, I do love rewards!" The young Pirian clapped her hands together in delight. "Let's see if I can figure this very difficult question out..."

She had initially thought it was Elias who was the culprit but the way he was holding Olvir told her a different story.

"It was clearly Olvir who started it and, Elias, you clearly got here just in time to save him. Did someone tell you that you should have more fun and you got mad enough to punch them?"

Her tone was slightly condescending but her smile was all innocence as she presented the perfect picture of poise and perfect noble perfection.

 

[Olvir]

Ollie rolled his eyes, giving a falsely choking cough. "Me? No."

He stated plainly.

"I was simply attempting to give some of our less fortunate citizens some edification." The Weiroon said, glancing towards the very man who had first struck him. He was now laying on the floor, his chest rising and falling as he rolled around in pain. "Tactfully, mind you."

At least he'd thought he'd been rather tactful. "Eli did manage to save the day though. Hero of the Republic that he is."

A shrug rolled over his shoulder, shaking the Initiate loose from his collar. "You should have seen him Philomina, a paladin coming to my rescue."

There was hardly any sarcasm to his tone.

"Enough to bring most women's knickers to their ankles." He said with a nod of his head.

 

[Elias]

Elias' grip on Olvir's shirt loosened, and he roughly smoothed the wrinkles out on his friend's expensive threads.

"He could save himself just fine," the Initiate spat, "But they expect me to keep him out of trouble. Or, at the very least, to bring him home in one piece."

The young man's large hands clapped down on Olvir's shoulders, "Stand still." Suddenly, Elias raised one of his hands to Oli's face, pinched the bridge of his nose between his thumb and forefinger, and roughly jerked his wrist. There was an audible crack from the resetting of bone, to which Elias stepped back and smugly regarded his fellow nobleman.

"So," he said, dusting his hands off and faced Mina, "What are you doing here."

 

[Dreymon]

Dreymon was now using said unconscious lout as a leg rest as he drank from his tankard in total peace. The table around him had thinned out quite a bit, and he had run of all the free real estate. Whether that was from his brutalization of disturbers of the peace, or the presence of nobles was up for debate.

One remark from the nearby conversation did draw his attention: something about a Paladin. Any concern he had been made faded with the realization he was comparing his Dreadlord friend to one.

Drey took a pull from his tankard and set it down on the table beside him. One hand dropped to procure a pipe from his belt pouch. He would pack the pipe the pipe before clenching it between his teeth. Both free hands would pat his pockets before he found his matches. Pulling a match free, he would lean forward and set the match against the unconscious mans stubble before striking it and igniting it.

Another laugh and he leaned back to rest against the table and returned his boots to their resting place, before lighting his pipe and taking a few puffs.

Olvir Elias Mina Pirian

 

[Mina Pirian]

"Good thing I am not most women," Mina quipped in response to Olvir's very obvious try to get his friend laid. Elias seemed to ignore it though. Probably wise.

"Also, if either of you call me Philomina again, I am going to start another brawl."

Her tone this time was low and held a threat in it. She was not just a pretty face. She had been in the Guard and she could hold her own.

Mina made a face of disgust when Elias cracked Olvir's nose. She hated that sound so much and it did not matter how many times she heard it. The look of disgust changed into a small innocent smile.

"Oh, I like to go drink where I will not run into people I know who insist on using my full name and pissing me off..."

 

[Olvir]

"MOTHERFUCK!" Olvir swore as Elias slipped the bridge of his nose back into it's proper place.

A hand almost immediately shot to his face, half a dozen more curses echoing past his lips as he tried to sequester the pain into the abyss. His head dipped for a moment, droplets of blood covering his palm as he gathered himself. "Kress."

He swore, invoking that ancient god and entirely missing the first half of what Mina had said.

"Going to tell whoever takes you to bed to expect a rough hand." Ollie remarked bitterly, gently rubbing his now swollen nose.

Eyes darted to Mina, eyebrow raising. "Came to the wrong tavern then, huh Philomina?"

Olvir needled, his own pain lashing out from his tongue.

 

[Elias]

"Quit caterwauling," Elias rolled his eyes, "It's unbecoming."

Unawares of her threat, Olvir unwittingly invoked Mina's wrath. Though much smaller than either of them, she threw a swift, fierce punch up at the aggrieved nobleman. Quicker to react, Elias caught the girl by her wrist and squeezed down like a vice with measured strength. Enough to cause mild discomfort, but not any actual pain.

"Don't."

 

[Mina Pirian]

Mina growled at Elias as he wrist and stopped her from punching Olvir. He was not hurting her so the growl and subsequent glare was purely for him spoiling her punishment.

"He was warned..." Mina snapped at Elias.

Honestly, punching Olvir would only bring a short lived satisfaction. Short lived satisfaction was still satisfaction though.

"So could you two fuck off so I can drink in peace?" Her voice and face dripped with the purest, fakest innocence possible.

 

[Olvir]

Ollie didn't shirk away even slightly when Mina lashed out at him. Either confident in Elias' protection or never even seeing that she was going to strike him at all.

His eyes rolled as she offered another short jab. "Sure."

In truth, he'd mostly been on his way out anyway. Though slumming it with the locals always had it's own ports of joy they tended to be soured when someone punched him in the face. He really had just trying to be helpful after all.

Couldn't blame him for that.

"I got things to do down in High Town." The very name of one of Vel Anir's slum districts would likely send his two Noble kinsmen's eyebrows ups. "You coming Eli?"

Ollie asked casually, stepping past Mina and sticking out his tongue as he headed towards the door.

 

[Elias]

"Right," Elias let go of Mina's wrist, his expression twisting with mirth. What was it with these Pirian girls? What good did it do, raising children with all bark and little bite? What were they actually doing at that House?

It wasn't the irony of High Town's name that caught Elias' attention, but rather that it had passed Olvir's lips.

"The fuck you do!" he hissed, "You're going home, mate. You realize you're my problem, yeah?"

But still, without a breath of hesitation, Elias began to follow Olvir. He turned back mid-stride for a quick final word and jabbed a finger at Mina.

"Oh! If yous are ever in need of a drinking partner, just give me a shout, love."

 

[Mina Pirian]

Mina gave Elias a look that said your friend is a child who just stuck his tongue out at me.

The young Noble really needed a drink but the duo of Elias and Olvir seemed much more entertaining.

"Hey, Elias, do you think you will need help getting poor little Olvir home?"

She really just wanted to see what the boys were going to get into next.

And she knew it would drive Olvir crazy to have her along.

 

[Olvir]

"No going home yet, Eli!" Ollie objected. "No time like the present to get some business done."

He motioned towards the door. "And business is a' callin."

As the commoners would say in their tongue. Though Olvir did not volunteer just what he wanted to do in High Town. The place wasn't exactly known for it's savory business practices, much less for the nobles wandering it at night.

"You wanna go home, go home." He told Elias, his voice suddenly far more stern and serious than it had been before.

He half turned when Mina offered her tease.

His features flickering. "No no Mina, stay here and drink. Wouldn't want to interrupt your busy schedule!"

Ollie said, spinning and walking towards the door.

 

[Elias]

Oh, help. Wasn't that cute? Elias stayed his tongue, fighting the urge to ask what help she thought she could be to him, exactly. If he willed it, the Bloody Gull and all of its patrons would be a pile of mixed ashes, and he'd have plenty in his reserve to spare. What help did he need with anything?

Elias tightly clenched his fist and ground his teeth together. First Kristen, now her sister. Looking down on him. Relaxing, the Initiate sighed and dismissed Mina's question with a calm, lazy wave.

He closely followed Olvir, fully intending to stick by his friend's side even if he voiced complaints the entire time. They'd done this dance enough over the years.

"Gonna tell me what kind of business you have, then?"

Elias raised a brow back at Mina and beckoned her to join with a jerk of his head.

"Don't listen to this lout. You wanna play with the lads, then by all means... But don't expect us to pick you up if you trip and scrape your knee."

 

[Mina Pirian]

Mina just rolled her eyes at Olvir. One day he would forgive her for getting him in trouble or he wouldn't and she would get him in trouble again. It was easy enough to fuck with him since he still did not know how to have fun.

She narrowed her eyes at Elias as she started to walk after him.

"Oh no, I do not think I will be able to keep up with you and Olvir. I have never been out of my house before!"

Sarcasm dripped from Mina's words. She had been in the Guard. She was not afraid of playing with the lads or scraped knees.